Zahra R.: Iranian Christian Houston teacher of 30 years held six months by ICEZahra Razavinik, 66, has taught preschoolers at a Houston church for nearly 30 years while caring for her husband's heart condition. She has been held at El Valle Detention Center for six months since a routine check-in.Social media onlyJan 1, 2026·Houston, TX·Iran·Instagram📦
Migrants in Oregon suburb detained after ICE agents posed as utility workersAt least three people in Gresham, Oregon were detained after federal agents posing as utility workers lured them from their homes. Local utilities have since issued guidance, one in seven languages, on how to identify real employees.Jan 2026·Gresham, OR·El País📦,OPB📦,The Oregonian,T&D World,Roundtable
Khadija: Bisexual Ghanaian woman granted protection shackled and deported to Cameroon by ICEKhadija, a bisexual Ghanaian woman granted protection from deportation, was shackled and deported to Cameroon anyway in January 2026. She now lives in a crowded room there, afraid to go outside, with only temporary permission to stay.Jan 2026·Eloy, AZ·Ghana·Immigration Equality📦,Third Country Deportation Watch📦
Minnesota detainees in El Paso, Texas report medical neglect, overcrowdingMinnesota detainees sent to a Texas facility reported medical neglect, including an 18-year-old denied medication and a man who waited five days for care before testing positive for COVID.Jan 2026·El Paso, TX·Cuba·Star Tribune📦,U.S. Representative Veronica Escobar📦,MPR News
Alexander P.: Dominican 15-year-old held 4 months at Dilley with inadequate schoolingAlexander Perez, 15, from the Dominican Republic, has spent four months detained with his mother and brother after their bus was stopped. He describes inadequate schooling and uncomfortable questioning about immigration policy in class.Jan 2026·Los Angeles, CA·Dominican Republic·The Atlantic📦
Ariana V.: 14-year-old held about 45 days at Dilley reports severe depressionAriana Velasquez, 14, a Honduran freshman at Hicksville High School, has been detained at Dilley for about 45 days, separated from the younger siblings she used to care for. She reports depression and long waits for medical care.Jan 2026·Hicksville, NY·Honduras·CNN📦,The Atlantic📦,Truthout📦,Vuink,Briefly,News AR
Two U.S. citizen brothers arrested without warrants by ICE in North CarolinaTwo U.S. citizen brothers, arrested without being asked their immigration status during North Carolina enforcement sweeps, are among five plaintiffs suing over warrantless ICE arrests statewide.Jan 2026·NC·Courier-Post📦,WUNC📦,Enlace Latino NC,Augusta Chronicle
Jacob: Colombian boy's mother detained at ICE check-in, leaving child traumatizedJacob, a 9-year-old with a pending asylum case, watched his mother get detained at a routine ICE check-in while his father waited nearby. She spent five months held before release, leaving Jacob unable to sleep, eat, or attend school.Jan 2026·Los Angeles, CA·Colombia·KFF Health News📦
Asylum-seeking mother detained at ICE check-in as 9-year-old son watchesA Colombian asylum seeker with no criminal record was detained at an ICE check-in as her 9-year-old son Jacob and husband waited in the room. Held almost five months before her release, Jacob developed severe anxiety and depression afterward.Jan 2026·Los Angeles, CA·Colombia·CBS News📦
Hugo D.: Minnesota father deported to Guatemala by ICE, young son stops eatingHugo Diaz, 49, built a transportation business in Minnesota before being arrested and deported to Guatemala, leaving his wife and two sons in Burnsville. His younger son has stopped eating since.Jan 1, 2026·Burnsville, MN·Guatemala·KVRR📦,Minnesota Reformer📦,MPR News📦
Maria Cristina T.C.: Hearing-impaired 71-year-old great-grandmother held 10 months by ICE in ArizonaMaria Cristina Tapia Cornejo, 71, a great-grandmother with a hearing impairment and family ties in Arizona, has been held at Eloy Detention Center for over 10 months and is appealing her deportation order.Jan 2026·Arizona, AZ·USA Today📦,The Arizona Republic,Tucson.com📦,Copper Courier📦,Instagram📦
1,831 people arrested in West Virginia ICE surge with state helpA statewide enforcement surge in West Virginia led to 1,831 arrests, over half collateral and most involving only immigration violations. A federal judge ordered two detainees released over constitutional concerns.Jan 2026·West Virginia·Stocktonia📦,ACLU of West Virginia📦,AOL
Fatal Encounters Show Immigration Officials' Impunity, Activists SayActivists cite the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and two killings in San Diego as part of a pattern of questioned claims and evidence handling by immigration officials.Jan 2026·Minneapolis, MN·NPR+1📦,Associated Press📦,Capital & Main📦,Foster's Daily Democrat,SSRN
Jose S.: Partner deported with pending citizenship case dies crossing Rio Grande to TexasJose Sanchez was deported to Mexico despite a pending citizenship case and died in January trying to cross the Rio Grande back to his partner, Tiffany Barrera, and their family in San Antonio.Jan 2026·San Antonio, TX·Mexico·USA Today📦,Washington Post📦,Mundo Now,GoFundMe
Bobby N.: Tow-truck driver who hooked ICE vehicle acquitted by juryTow-truck driver Bobby Nuñez was acquitted of stealing government property after hooking an ICE vehicle, part of a string of failed prosecutions against ICE protesters.Dec 31, 2025·Los Angeles, CA·The Intercept📦,CBS News📦,NBC Los Angeles,LA Mag,Townhall
Victor R.O.: La Playa Taco Shop owner deported to Mexico after two-month ICE detentionVictor Rodriguez Ocampo Sr., 54, who ran La Playa Taco Shop in Mission Beach for about 30 years, was deported to Mexico after two months at Otay Mesa Detention Center. His son's GoFundMe has raised over $18,500 for the family.Dec 31, 2025·San Diego, CA·Mexico·Times of San Diego📦,PressBee📦,10News📦,Instagram📦
Alieskys V.S.: Asylum-seeking shop foreman held by ICE nearly six months without a hearingA shop foreman and asylum seeker who complied with release terms for nearly three years was detained at a routine check-in and held six months without a hearing. A judge ordered his release.Dec 31, 2025·Texas·CourtListener📦
ICE agent points gun at aid volunteers outside San Antonio facilityTwo volunteers from Comrade Coffee Collective who were filming and handing out aid outside a San Antonio check-in facility had a gun pointed at them by an ICE agent driving into the site, even as they backed away.Social media onlyDec 31, 2025·San Antonio, TX·Instagram📦
U.S. citizens arrested by Border Patrol agents, chief saysBorder Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino acknowledged that his agents have arrested U.S. citizens, including on charges of assaulting federal officers, amid broader allegations of excessive force during an operation in Chicago.Dec 31, 2025·Chicago, IL·ProPublica📦,NPR📦,The New Republic+2📦,Capital & Main📦
Flor V.L.: DACA mother of two detained by ICE while Christmas shopping in PhoenixFlor Ivet Vargas-Loya, a DACA recipient and restaurant owner, is the sole provider for her two children after her husband's deportation. She was handcuffed while Christmas shopping in Phoenix despite wearing an ankle monitor.Dec 31, 2025·Arizona·Mexico·Univision📦,The Arizona Republic📦,Threads,12News📦,Shine My Crown📦,AZ Family📦,Instagram📦
